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Type: National Parks/WS

  • Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano

    Geologists have detected a swarm of earthquakes at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, though it was not erupting.

    Kilauea Volcano

    • Kilauea is about 200 miles south of Honolulu, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
    • It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 34 times since 1952. In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to the volcano goddess Pele.
    • From 1983 to 2018, it erupted almost continuously, in some cases sending streams of lava that covered farms and homes.
    • At the end of this decades-long eruption, Kilauea spewed lava from vents in a residential neighborhood on its eastern flank and destroyed more than 700 homes.
    • In December, Kilauea erupted at the crater, creating a lake with enough lava to fill 10 Hoover dams. That eruption ended in May.

    Do not skip answering this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2014)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

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    Back2Basics: Volcanic Landforms

    • Note the intrinsic and extrinsic types of volcanic landforms

    • A volcano has 3 main characteristics
    1. Cone shaped mountain
    2. Formed by rock or ash thrown from the inside of the earth
    3. At times, opening or depression at top
    • The three main types of volcanos are:

    1. Cinder cone Volcano: The cinder cones are small volcanoes with steep sides. Even though they are small, these are the ones you probably hear about.  They are very explosive and made of ash and rock.  Most of the cinder cones are small and less than 500 meters high.  A famous cinder cone is Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona.
    2. Shield Volcanoes: A shield is a low and broad volcano that usually has a very wide crater (a dent in the Earth’s surface). It is formed from thin layers of lava after consistent low-grade eruptions.  The largest volcano in the world is a shield volcano.  It is located in Hawaii.
    3. Composite volcanoes: They are the tallest type of volcano. They look very impressive but do usually have quiet and slow lava flows.  They sometimes have small eruptions that cause ash and rock to go flying.  One of the most famous volcanoes in the world is a composite volcano.  It is Mount Fuji in Japan.

  • Places in news: Indira Point

    The Swarnim Vijay Varsh Victory Flame was taken to Indira Point, the southernmost tip of the country on August 22, 2021, as part of its voyage to the Nicobar Group of Islands.

    Indira Point

    • Indira Point is the southernmost point of Indian Territory.
    • It is a village in the Nicobar district at Great Nicobar Island of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India.
    • Rondo Island, Indonesia’s northernmost island in Sabang district of Aceh province of Sumatra, lies 163 km south of Little Andaman Island and 145 km or 80 nautical miles from Indira point.
    • The point was formerly known as Pygmalion Point and Parsons Point. It was renamed in honour of Indira Gandhi during mid-1980s.
    • Galathea National Park and Lighthouse are the major attractions here.

    India and Indonesia are upgrading the deep sea port Sabang under the strategic military and economic collaboration to protect the channel between Great Nicobar Island and Rondo Island which is 612 km or 330 nautical miles from Indira Point.

    What is Swarnim Vijay Varsh?

    • It marks the 50th anniversary of the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
    • Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on December 16 to mark India`s triumph in liberating Bangladesh.
    • The journey of the Victory Flame is taken from north to south corners of India.

  • Places in news: Cattle Island on Hirakud Reservoir

    The Odisha Forest and Environment Department is all set to begin ‘Island Odyssey’ and ‘Hirakud Cruise’ ecotourism packages for tourists to islands inside the reservoir.

    Cattle Island

    • ‘Cattle island’, one of three islands in the Hirakud reservoir, has been selected as a sight-seeing destination.
    • When large numbers of people were displaced from their villages when the Hirakud dam was constructed on the Mahanadi river in 1950s, villagers could not take their cattle with them.
    • They left their cattle behind in deserted villages.
    • As the area started to submerge following the dam’s construction, the cattle moved up to Bhujapahad, an elevated place in the Telia Panchayat under Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda district.
    • Subsequently named ‘Cattle island’, it’s surrounded by a vast sheet of water.

    Other islands

    • Then there is an “island of bats”, also within the reservoir, just 1 km away from the Debrigarh ecotourism project.
    • It is the habitat of hundreds of bats.
    • Tourists also get a magnificent view of the sunset from the reservoir. ‘Sunset island’ is one of the three stops on the unique boat ride.

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  • Water shortage in Colorado River Basin

    The federal government in the US has declared a water shortage for the Colorado river basin due to a historic drought.

    Try this PYQ

    Q. Consider the following pairs

    River – Flows into

    1. Mekong — Andaman Sea
    2. Thames — Irish Sea
    3. Volga — Caspian Sea
    4. Zambezi — Indian Ocean

    Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?(CSP 2020)

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 4 only

     

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    Colorado River

    • The Colorado River flows from the Rocky Mountains into the southwestern US and into Mexico.
    • The river is fed by snowmelt from the Rocky and Wasatch mountains and flows a distance of over 2,250 km (river Ganga flows through a distance of roughly 2,500 km) across seven states and into Mexico.
    • The Colorado River Basin is divided into the Upper (Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and northern Arizona) and Lower Basins (parts of Nevada, Arizona, California, southwestern Utah and western New Mexico).
    • In the Lower Basin, the Hoover Dam controls floods and regulates water delivery and storage.
    • Apart from the Hoover dam, there is the Davis Dam, Parker Dam and the Imperial Dam that regulate the release of water from the Hoover Dam.

    Major lakes in its basin

    • Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of volume and was formed in the 1930s by the Hoover Dam in Southern Nevada.
    • Its main source of water is obtained from the Rocky Mountain snowmelt and runoff.
    • The other is Lake Powell, the reservoir created by the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona.

    Reasons for shortage

    • Since the year 2000, this river basin has been experiencing a prolonged drought.
    • This persistent drought has led to a lowering down of the water levels in the basin’s reservoirs to meet the demand over the years.
    • But even with great water storing capacity, over the years the demand for water from the basin has increased whereas supply is restricted.

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  • Four new Wetlands added to Ramsar list

    Four more wetlands from India get recognition from the Ramsar Secretariat as Ramsar sites.

    What are Wetlands?

    • A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail.
    • The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other landforms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.

    Significance of Wetlands

    • Wetlands provide a wide range of important resources and ecosystem services such as food, water, fibre, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood moderation, erosion control, and climate regulation.
    • They are, in fact, are a major source of water and our main supply of freshwater comes from an array of wetlands that help soak rainfall and recharge groundwater.
    • They provide many societal benefits: food and habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; water quality improvement; flood storage; shoreline erosion control; economically beneficial natural products for human use; and opportunities for recreation, education, and research, etc.

    Which are the new sites added to the Ramsar List?

    • Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat and
    • Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana

    With this, the number of Ramsar sites in India are 46 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,083,322 hectares.

    (1) Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary

    • Bhindawas WLS, the largest wetland in Haryana is a human-made freshwater wetland.
    • Over 250 bird species use the sanctuary throughout the year as a resting and roosting site.
    • The site supports more than ten globally threatened species including the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Steppe Eagle, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, and Black-bellied Tern.

    (2) Sultanpur National Park

    • Sultanpur NP from Haryana supports more than 220 species of resident, winter migratory and local migratory waterbirds at critical stages of their life cycles.
    • More than ten of these are globally threatened, including the critically endangered sociable lapwing, and the endangered Egyptian Vulture, Saker Falcon, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and Black-bellied Tern.

    (3) Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

    • Thol Lake WLS from Gujarat lies on the Central Asian Flyway and more than 320 bird species can be found here.
    • The wetland supports more than 30 threatened waterbird species, such as the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture and Sociable Lapwing, and the vulnerable Sarus Crane, Common Pochard, and Lesser White-fronted Goose.

    (4) Wadhvana Wetland

    • Wadhvana Wetland from Gujarat is internationally important for its birdlife as it provides wintering ground to migratory waterbirds, including over 80 species that migrate on the Central Asian Flyway.
    • They include some threatened or near-threatened species such as the endangered Pallas’s fish-Eagle, the vulnerable Common Pochard, and the near-threatened Dalmatian Pelican, Grey-headed Fish-eagle and Ferruginous Duck.

    Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

    • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
    • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
    • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
    • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
    • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
    • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals, and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.

  • Places in news: Ningbo Port

    China has partially shut down the world’s third-busiest container port, the Ningbo Port, after a worker there tested positive for Covid-19.

    Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan

    • This port is the busiest in the world in terms of cargo tonnage.
    • It handled 888.96 million tons of cargo in 2015.
    • The port is located in Ningbo and Zhoushan, on the coast of the East China Sea, in Zhejiang province on the southeast end of Hangzhou Bay, across which it faces the municipality of Shanghai.
    • The port is at the crossroads of the north-south inland and coastal shipping route, including canals to the important inland waterway to interior China, the Yangtze River, to the north.
    • The port consists of several ports which are Beilun (seaport), Zhenhai (estuary port), and old Ningbo harbour (inland river port).

    What is the potential impact of the closure?

    • Despite the diversion of shipments to other terminals, experts are anticipating a backlog of consignments with average wait times being expected to rise.

    How is it likely to affect global trade?

    • In the aftermath of Covid-19, global supply chains have remained fragile mainly on account of closures and lockdowns that affected both the manufacturing and the logistical segments of the chain.
    • This has not only resulted in a growing backlog of shipments but has also caused freight charges to go up as demand outgrew the supply.
    • Extended closure of one of the biggest terminals at the third-busiest port in the world could further exacerbate the stress in global trade.

  • Places in news: Agalega Island

    Mauritius has denied a report that it has allowed India to build a military base on the remote island of Agalega.

    Agalega Island

    • Agaléga are two outer islands of Mauritius located in the Indian Ocean, about 1,000 kilometers north of Mauritius island.
    • The islands have a total area of 2,600 ha (6,400 acres).
    • There is an MoU between the governments of Mauritius and India to develop the Agaléga islands and resolve infrastructural problems faced by Agaleans.

    Why in news?

    • India asserts that these new facilities are part of its Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) policy, which aims to increase maritime cooperation between countries in the region.
    • Mauritius, for its part, has indicated that its coastguard personnel will use the new facilities.
    • But it is clear that the Indian investment of $250m in developing an airfield, port, and communications hub on this remote island is not aimed at helping Mauritius develop its capacity to police its territorial waters.

    Significance of this area

    • The Agalega area is currently a blind spot for the Indian Navy and by building a military facility in it, New Delhi hopes to expand its maritime domain awareness.
    • In times of conflict, knowing the location of enemy ships and submarines, without being detected in the process, creates a significant advantage.
    • China’s naval forays into this region are the true motivator for its expanding naval presence.
    • In peacetime, effective maritime domain awareness helps establish international partnerships with like-minded militaries and also acts as a deterrent to both state and non-state adversaries, by signaling reach.

    Conclusion

    • The Indian Ocean is now increasingly contested.
    • Whether or not China is deterred by India’s surveillance efforts, Agaléga is now a pawn in this new era of major power competition across the Indian Ocean and indeed the wider Indo-Pacific region.

  • South China Sea Dispute

     

    Pentagon chief has said that Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea have “no basis in international law”, taking aim at China’s growing assertiveness in the hotly contested waters.

    South China Sea Dispute

    • It is a dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas, and the Paracels and the Spratlys – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries.
    • China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei all have competing claims.
    • Alongside the fully-fledged islands, there are dozens of rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks, and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal.
    • China claims by far the largest portion of territory – an area defined by the “nine-dash line” which stretches hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.
    • Beijing says its right to the area goes back centuries to when the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation, and in 1947 it issued a map detailing its claims.
    • It showed the two island groups falling entirely within its territory. Those claims are mirrored by Taiwan.

    Spat over Chinese claims

    • China has backed its expansive claims with island-building and naval patrols.
    • The US says it does not take sides in territorial disputes but has sent military ships and planes near disputed islands, calling them “freedom of navigation” operations to ensure access to key shipping and air routes.
    • Both sides have accused each other of “militarizing” the South China Sea.
    • There are fears that the area is becoming a flashpoint, with potentially serious global consequences.

  • Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Project

    The US, which had previously imposed sanctions to prevent the completion of a major new gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, has now signaled its approval for the project.

    Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

    • It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
    • It includes two active pipelines running from Vyborg to Lubmin near Greifswald forming the original Nord Stream, and two further pipelines under construction running from Ust-Luga to Lubmin termed Nord Stream 2.
    • In Lubmin the lines connect to the OPAL line to Olbernhau on the Czech border and to the NEL line to Rehden near Bremen.
    • The first line Nord Stream-1 was laid and inaugurated in 2011 and the second line in 2012.
    • At 1,222 km in length, Nord Stream is the longest sub-sea pipeline in the world, surpassing the Langeled pipeline.

    Why is the pipeline controversial?

    • The US believed that the project would increase Europe’s dependence on Russia for natural gas.
    • Currently, EU countries already rely on Russia for 40 percent of their gas needs.
    • The project also has opponents in eastern Europe, especially Ukraine, whose ties with Russia have seriously deteriorated in the aftermath of the Crimean conflict in 2014.
    • There is an existing land pipeline between Russia and Europe that runs through Ukraine.
    • The country feels that once Nord Storm 2 is completed, Russia could bypass the Ukrainian pipeline, and deprive it of lucrative transit fees of around $3 billion per year.
    • Ukraine also fears another invasion by Russia once the new pipeline is operational.

  • Places in news: Great Barrier Reef

    Chinese official has said that political tensions between Beijing and Australia were not behind a UNESCO recommendation to place the Great Barrier Reef on its endangered list.

    Great Barrier Reef

    • The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
    • It is stretched for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.
    • The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
    • It was world heritage listed in 1981 by UNESCO as the most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem on the planet.

    Importance of Corals

    Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth.

    • They support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals and hundreds of other species.
    • This biodiversity is considered key to finding new medicines for the 21st century.
    • Medical use: Many drugs are now being developed from coral reef animals and plants as possible cures for cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses, and other diseases.
    • Fisheries: Healthy coral reefs support commercial and subsistence fisheries as well as jobs and businesses through tourism and recreation.
    • Local economies receive billions of dollars from visitors to reefs through diving tours, recreational fishing trips, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses based near reef ecosystems.
    • Coral reef structures also buffer shorelines against 97 per cent of the energy from waves, storms, and floods, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage, and erosion.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. Most of the world’s coral reefs are in tropical waters.
    2. More than one-third of the world’s coral reefs are located in the territories of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
    3. Coral reefs host far more number of animal phyla than those hosted by tropical rainforests.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3 only

    Back2Basisc: Coral Reef

    • Coral reefs are built by and made up of thousands of tiny animals—coral “polyps”—that are related to anemones and jellyfish.
    • Polyps are shallow-water organisms that have a soft body covered by a calcareous skeleton. The polyps extract calcium salts from seawater to form these hard skeletons.
    • The polyps live in colonies fastened to the rocky seafloor.
    • The tubular skeletons grow upwards and outwards as a cemented calcareous rocky mass collectively called corals.
    • When the coral polyps die, they shed their skeleton on which new polyps grow.
    • The cycle is repeated for millions of years leading to the accumulation of layers of corals shallow rock created by these depositions is called a reef.